Another story, sort of related: After taking a ten year hiatus from motorcycles starting when I was born, my dad was in the market for another bike and things had changed a lot. We went to look at quite a few bikes and he was just spellbound with all of the new stuff, not sure what to choose. I remember him asking one of the sellers why he was liquidating his bikes...his reply will forever ring in my ears as scary and appealing, and it went something like: "...well, I had a lot of fun racing, and it's always kept me in pretty good shape. But I found out that I could get the same effect by putting all of my gear on, sitting in the sun for a few hours and sweating through it all, rolling around in the dirt and mud, and then having my wife beat me randomly with a 2x4 about four feet long. And that was a lot cheaper, she was a lot happier, and I wasn't gone from the house for the day, so the kids and dog didn't miss me."

He was joking, of course, but even when I was ~10 or so, I got the double meaning in his joke.

Just back from another prerun. Mike, Russ and I froze our butts off! Despite the cold, we managed to get over 500 miles in. On this trip I planned more HP (off trail) than all previous stages combined. HP in this terrain proved quite challenging, sometimes as slow as 5 mph zigzagging through the mars-like terrain. On the last day the snow slowed us to a crawl, setting us back a few hours, and leading to a 9:00pm ASS and a late dinner. Overall the was quite successful. This area has so much great terrain, we now have several long stages all from the same start/finish point. You guys are going to eat these stages up!!!

Camel Head rock is one of the destination points at the end of a tough HP section. When you see this off in the distance, you know that's the point you should be aiming for!

Another HP section. We all seemed to take different lines in the HP sections, but managed to come back together when we hit the landmark point where a new heading was given.

There were a lot of cool little dunes mixed in with brush and wild rock formations. It was usually easier riding the dunes than the other sections as recent rains had made them pretty hard packed. Summer riding will be a lot tougher!

I don't draw the tulip drawings in the roadbook until we prerun it and prove the route is good. Sometimes it's tough staying on track when you only have mileage, text and headings.

Huge cow pie:

Just down the road from the bivouac we hit the Mars terrain:

Grand Sunset:

Near the cattle water hole. Russ didn't fall in this time.

Lookout point while riding along the edge of the Grand Canyon:

Wild horses running along the edge of the Grand Canyon:

Every morning we pulled out the roadbook and installed a new one. This one is for half a stage.

This was just minutes before Russ went down on this road due to the slick ice and snow. That was the end of the day for him. He'll be back soon!

Later, with just Mike and I, we dropped into this wash and rode it for a couple of miles. GREAT fun!!!

Eventually the snow got the better of Mike and I as well. This section was very slow going, and not so fun.

I got a bit aggressive again, and paid the price.

Not the Grand Canyon, but definitely a grand view. It didn’t look like anyone had been on the road along here for months if not years. Very remote!

For many riders, this is "bucket list" kind of stuff. Heck, for many riders just getting out west to ride a few days is a lifetime goal.

And for racers, or wannabe racers, it represents a totally different value.

Something like this can help people acheive their dreams either way.

Of course, the naysayers will say "get out there and explore yourself..."...and I get that point of view too.

I am curious if you have evolved your thinking to the final deliverable of all this awesome effort?

Is it an event? A series of events? or just a "click here and buy the roadbook" product? Do you intend the target to be strictly those training for Dakar style rallys or would you open this up to the "dreamers" and their bucket list? (granted, it is for "experts only").

I am curious if you have evolved your thinking to the final deliverable of all this awesome effort? Is it an event? A series of events? or just a "click here and buy the roadbook" product? Do you intend the target to be strictly those training for Dakar style rallys or would you open this up to the "dreamers" and their bucket list? (granted, it is for "experts only").

My thinking is continuously evolving. It's still planned as a roadbook navigated ride, but the routes and overall length keep growing. And some of the most recently created stages have some very difficult navigation and more challenging terrain on average. In other words, it's getting longer and harder.

As far as "events", I'm leaning away from the idea of a big organized event. In my view, an excellent rally route doesn't have 30 sets of fresh tire tracks ahead of you to follow. Fewer is better. So, if I don't know you, you might have to get the roadbooks and plan for your own group on your own schedule.

I still don't know how roadbooks will be made available. Maybe some stages would be available to a wide audience, and others might be held for the small group of hardcore rally racers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrk2surf

if you need a hand doing recon I would jump at the chance ..ready willing and able! Great looking stuff Scott! Looks like Mike rebuilt his KTM !

About the only way to help me with the recon is to buy me a better computer that runs Google Earth better. Everything is planned on the computer at home before we go ride it. The only time we depart from the planned route is when we encounter a locked gate or other blockage. And even then, I almost always have a workaround preplanned. We rode a bit over 500 miles in this past prerun. I can only remember one place about a mile long where I rode off the planned route or a planned alternate route. I know it sounds a bit strange, but it is absolutely the best way to get this many stages and this many miles proven out while maintaining a high level of unique and challenging terrain. I find 100 times more cool stuff by using the computer than I could possibly find by searching on location on a bike. The bad part is that I have a pretty good idea what’s coming before I actually ride it. That takes away a lot of the surprise and fun discovery for me while riding. But I think it provides the best final result for everyone else who follows.

Now, I suppose you really meant you want to help with the prerunning. I really appreciate all who have offered to help. But it’s clear to me now that fewer helpers is better. Two helpers is best (safest), three is maybe acceptable, and more is trouble. One helper spot is permanently taken by Russ, because he’s super sharp and reliable and he lives close so we can drive out together. That leaves one or two openings, and I have about a dozen close friends who want in. So, please hang in there and wait for me to get the first roadbook completed and released. You’ll probably like that more anyway, since the prerunning is slow and frustrating at times.

As far as "events", I'm leaning away from the idea of a big organized event. In my view, an excellent rally route doesn't have 30 sets of fresh tire tracks ahead of you to follow. Fewer is better. So, if I don't know you, you might have to get the roadbooks and plan for your own group on your own schedule.

Hmmm..... need to find something good to bribe you with I know you are not a drinker but certainly there is a weakness there someplace I could exploit

As far as getting a better computer. If you set up a web page with some pics and talking about what you are doing I suspect a "donate" button would get some hits.